This past weekend saw Maritzburg College play DHS and Hilton in a range of cricket fixtures, some of which were played in a round-robin format of T10 and T15 matches. College played 21 matches in all, winning 13, losing 4, and 4 matches ended with no result.

Maritzburg College first XI coach Robbie Coutts reports that the College first XI brought home an exciting 50-over victory against the DHS first XI in Durban on Saturday, despite being under pressure for a large portion of the match.

College captain Johnathan van Zyl won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat on a pitch that looked like it may break up in the afternoon.

Feature photo: Maritzburg College first XI all-rounder Bryn Brokensha played a pivotal role with bat and ball in the visitors’ exciting 13-run win over the Durban High School first XI on Saturday.

The DHS seam bowlers thrived in the first 10-over power play, taking two early wickets to leave College in the precarious position of 28 for 2 after the 10 overs.

Maritzburg College first XI captain Van Zyl and batting partner Creedon Smith then worked hard in the difficult conditions to establish a 56-run partnership before Smith (24) was out on the stroke of morning tea, the College score 75 reading for 3 after the initial 25 overs.

Van Zyl then linked well after tea with the new batsman Bryn Brokensha, the pair putting on 63 for the 4^th wicket before the skipper was out for a well-played 64 that was crafted under considerable pressure.

Brokensha had scored an unbeaten century (139 not out) for his club side the weekend before and built on that momentum. In partnership with the new batsman Luc Jacobs, Brokensha changed the momentum of the game in the closing overs, the pair adding 66 off 51 balls.

Brokensha batted intelligently, running well between the wickets and punishing any loose deliveries, his unbeaten 77 off 78 balls getting College to a defendable 226 for 6 in their 50 overs.

In reply, DHS got off to a great start, the opening partnership of 42 coming off 6 overs before Jacobs trapped an opening batsman in front and was rewarded with the umpire’s raised finger.

College coach Coutts reports that there was very little opportunity for his team in the
next 12 overs, the DHS batsmen punishing anything lose. The DHS second-wicket partnership had reached 65 before the Maritzburg College leg-spinner Chad Mason struck, the DHS total now reading 107 for 2.

At afternoon tea, the DHS first XI were in a comfortable position at a 136 for 2, needing 91
to win in 25 overs with 8 wickets in hand.

However, the introduction of Maritzburg College off-spinner James Wiggill slowed the scoring rate and it was Wiggill who made the vital breakthrough. That said, at 163 for 3 in the 32nd over, DHS were still in control of the outcome of this absorbing match, needing 64 off 18 overs with 7 wickets still in hand.

But it was College’s Caden Hohls who changed the game in the 38^th over of DHS’s allotted 50, taking two wickets, both leg-before-wicket dismissals. The breakthrough spurred
the College team on, the Red Black & Whites knowing that the best way to win the game was to bowl DHS out.

From this point onwards, College never allowed the opposition batsmen to settle or any significant partnerships to develop. Brokensha returned to the bowling attack in the 39th over and continued where Hohls had left off, to pick up another wicket, the DHS run chase faltering from 181 for 3 to 181 for 6.

With the pressure now fully on the DHS lower-order batsmen, the College team upped a level with their fielding, not allowing DHS any easy singles.

However, coach Coutts reports that the College bowlers then lacked discipline and bowled far too many wides which allowed DHS to keep the scoreboard ticking over and in the process to go past the 200 mark.

But it was Brokensha who gained the decisive breakthrough by picking up wickets in the 43rd and 45th overs to put College back in control.

And it was Brokensha’s batting partner in the closing overs, Luc Jacobs who finished the game off in College’s favour by bowling out the last DHS batsman, for College to register a thrilling 13-run win.

First XI scores in brief
Maritzburg College 226 for 6 in 50 overs (Johnathan van Zyl 64, Bryn Brokensha 77*)
DHS 213 all out (Caden Hohls 3 -33, Bryn Brokensha 3-30)
Maritzburg College won by 13 runs

 

 

Other Maritzburg College cricket results:
2nd XI DHS 76-7 (Mchunu 3-13)
2nd XI College 77-3 (Khumalo 41*)
College won by 7 wickets
4th College 71/6
4th DHS 57/9 (Sewpersad 3-8)
College won by 14 runs
Maritzburg College U16A 97/10
Hilton U16A 98/6
Maritzburg College lost by 4 wickets
Maritzburg College U16A College 132/7
DHS U16A 97/10
Maritzburg College won by 35 runs
College U16B 124-7 (Goslett 30, Tocknell 26*)
DHS 92 all out (Mornet 3-26, Armstrong 3-22)
College won by 33 runs
College U16B 63-5 (6/6) (J Knoetze 19, Warren 18*)
Hilton U16B 53-4 (6/6) (J Knoetze 2-3)
College won by 10 runs
DHS U16C 87/10 (Egberink 4-10 in 3 overs)
College U16C 90/6 (Ferguson 27)
College won by 4 wickets
College U15A 222 all out
DHS U15A 223/2
College lost by 8 wickets
DHS U15B 95/7
College U15B 96/3
College won by 7 wickets
DHS U15C 55/9 (20 overs)
College U15C 56/1 (6 overs)
College won by 9 wickets
DHS U15D 50 all out
College U15D 51/0
College won by 10 wickets after 6 overs
DHS U14A 73/4 (12 overs)
College U14A 59/3 (12 overs)
College lost by 14 runs
DHS U14B 88/8 (Jordaan 3-10, N Naidoo 3-22)
College U14B 89/3 (Schirge 35)
College won by 7 wickets
College U14E 119/1 (Clarke 50*)
DHS U14E 43/3
College won by 76 runs